On the relationship between continuous time random walks and the non-equilibrium Ornstein-Zernike equation

Abstract

An exact non-equilibrium Ornstein-Zernike (OZ) equation is derived for lattice fluid systems whose time development is given by a generalized master equation. The derivation is based on a generalization of the Montroll-Weiss continuous-time random walk on a lattice, and on their relationship with master equation solutions. Time dependent direct and total correlation functions are defined in terms of the generating functions for the probability densities of the random walker, such that, in the infinite time limit the equilibrium OZ equation is recovered. A perturbative analysis of the time dependent OZ equation is shown to be formally analogous to the perturbation of the Bloch equation in quantum field theory. Analytic results are obtained, under the mean spherical approximation, for the time dependent total correlation function for a one-dimensional lattice fluid with exponential attraction.